Tequila

Back in mid-May, a group from the consulate was invited to tour Hacienda Patrón. Never being one to miss out a trip to a tequila distillery, I signed up as soon as I received the invitation from the CLO. The Patrón facility is located about two hours east of Guadalajara, whereas most distillers are located around the town of Tequila, one hour west of Guadalajara. The location was selected based on the availability of the natural spring water supply they wanted to use in the production process.

I had not noticed Patrón tequilas in stores around town. It turns out only 1% of what they make is sold in Mexico, with 80% of their production going to the U.S. We had a great tour, complete with lots of insight into their production process, lots of tastings and a delicious lunch and more sampling options in a beautiful bar and dining room. Tours of Patrón are by invitation only, so I was very glad I was able to make the outing.

One way that Patrón varies in their production is by using open fermentation tanks.

They also use their own patented yeast, which they produce in their own lab on-site.

This is a compost area the size of four football fields. Much of the compost is sold to farmers in the area, as well as to their blue agave providers.

The “Black Magic Woman” cocktail, prepared in this glass container that is filled with smoke prior to serving.

Some friends had told us that the Jose Cuervo tour at Mundo Cuervo in Tequila was the most polished and well run of the various distillery tours that one can take. So, when my parents were in for a visit in December, I decided this was the one to do. It was the best tour I have done so far. A great tour guide and an extensive tasting really made for a great experience.

Well, after a year of being here in Guadalajara, we finally made it out to Tequila, which is just about an hour’s drive away. Thanks Francisca for offering to watch the kiddos! There are many distillery tours available, including the grand production they put on at Mundo Cuervo, but for this visit, we decided to start with Herradura.

A jimador, demonstrating how he cuts the blue agave plants. They have to go through 100 of these in five hours.

Ready for the ovens.

Fermenting.

Distilling.

The original distillery is still on the property.

We enjoyed a nice lunch in the cave-like restaurant at La Cofradia, which also has tequila tours, as well as a a boutique hotel.

Search for:

Follow Blog via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.